Selling Privately Can Be Time Consuming and Risky

Why take chances selling your car on Craigslist? It can be a major pain in the “you know what” and down right risky. Is it worth it? Of course not. Not only is your personal safety at risk, there are several other factors as well:

YOUR PRIVACY: Under no cirumstances should you let a prospective buyer of your car know where you live. If the car breaks down right after or there is a problem with the title or transfer the last thing you need is someone banging on your door at night. And remember, whoever calls you has your cel phone number forever. If you are a woman selling your car this is a major consideration.

THE PHONE: You’re a busy person. Selling your car privately takes time and time is money. The biggest time waster is managing the idiots who will call you. The vast majority are unlicensed dealers called “curbstoners” who will call you at all hours, insult you and your car and offer you a ridiculous price. Then you will have the people who set an appointment, ruin your schedule and flake out. This is Los Angeles remember? Not to mention hangups, people that can hardly speak English and my personal favorite;
“Do you finance?” Yeah right.

CAR DETAIL: You will have to detail it or pay to have it detailed. Nobody wants to buy a dirty car with a fosselized French fry stuck between the center console and the driver’s seat. You know the spot I’m talking about.

CARD AD: Now you will need to take proper pictures to truly portray your car in the best manner possible. This means correct angles, light settings and cropping and trust me, everybody gets this part wrong. Next comes writing a compelling ad. DON’T USE ALL CAPS! People will hate you you before they even see the car. Use spell check and remember it’s “brakes” not “breaks”.

CAR REPAIR: If you have any mechanical issues you will have to fix them because the last thing you need is having an angry stranger blowing up your cel phone wanting his money back.

TITLE: You need to have your title in hand. If you lost it you must apply for a title through DMV which could take up to thirty days. If your car is not fully paid for you can only sell it to a dealer like us who can handle the payoff for you and then we will get the title from the lender.

SMOG: California law states that when you sell a car privately in the State of California you must provide the buyer with a current smog certificate. If the car you sell won’t pass somg when the new owner goes to register it you can be sued and will be liable for the cost incurred to get it pass smog. This can be an expensive nightmare with older cars.

TEST DRIVE: Now it’s time for the fun test drive. Do you have a friend who you hate to drive with? We all do. You know, the guy who puts on the brakes on at the last possible second and your heart jumps out of your throat? Or the friend who drives just too fast for your tastes? Or how about the cel phone user while driving? Well anyway, that will be the test drive in your baby with a complete stranger at the wheel. Again, if you are a woman selling your car there is no reason to take this risk.

GETTING PAID: This is most important of all. Cashier’s checks issued by a private party can be fake or can be stopped. Obviously don not take a personal check. This leaves the only way to be paid which is not neccessarily safe. We have already talked about not letting anyone know where you live so what is the alternative? Counting out cash in a parking lot somewhere?

RELEASE OF LIABILTY: Because of budget cuts, when you sell your car privately sometimes it can now take months for the DMV to recognize change of ownerships. If the new owner of your car does not register it in a timely manner it can lead to parking tickets and toll violations being sent to you. Yes, you can prove that you sold the car before those infractions but it means taking a day off work and going to traffic court.

Sell Your Car to a Licensed and Bonded Car Dealer

If you are still reading I am sure you are getting the message. Save yourself the hassle. Sell your car a reputable and established, licensed and bonded California Dealer with good reviews. SELL YOU CAR TO US! We will buy your car AS IS. It doesn’t matter if it’s clean or dirty. If it has mechanical issues and that is the reason you’re selling it, no problem, we will take it off your hands. Can’t find the title or it’s not paid off yet? Not a problem. Won’t pass smog, that’s OK we will deal with it. We want you to make an informed decision.

If you have a car, truck or motorcycle that you need to sell we will make it quick, safe and hassle free. Did you inherit a classic car that you need to sell? We will evaluate it and buy it. People actually have fun selling us their cars!

If you are looking for a good, reliable used car we sell cars too. Check out our inventory here.

Dennis Goddard: So Paul, tell us about this car that you are selling today

Paul: My beloved 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee that I’ve had since day 1

Dennis: Wow, so you’ve had it since day 1?

Paul: Bought it brand new

Dennis: Nice nice, so why are you selling it?

Paul: It’s time to get the wife a new car

Dennis: It’s time

Paul: Yea, we’ve held on to it, towed the kids around in it

Dennis: Great, so Paul, tell us why you decided to sell your car to a dealer as opposed to selling it privately?

Paul: I was sitting in the car wash this morning, getting ready to take the pictures and putting it on craigslist and my better sense took over and I just didn’t want to go thru the hassle, the potential dangers, not of that mess. So I decided to sell my car Los Angeles, started Googling and found Dennis Buys Cars.

Dennis: Ok great, glad you mentioned that. When you googled us do you remember what it was that you typed in?

Paul: “Sell My Car Los Angeles”

Dennis: Sell My Car Los Angeles”, great! So you us as a result. So how would you rate your experience here at DennisBuysCars?

Paul: Much better than I anticipated. I was kind of dreading the possible experience and it was actually smooth and fare.

Dennis: Great, so I noticed that your Uber car has arrived so you even get a free ride home!